To Love and Protect
by BetYouCan'tFindMe
Summary: What happened between the death of Arthur and the introduction of the Olympian Crystal? Aren't you a least bit curious as to what happened with Hades and Zelena?


**So I had a dream about what could have happened between Hades killing Arthur and the evil plastic stick of death showing up and ruining a perfectly good ship.**

 **This turned out to be more than what I thought it would be.**

* * *

Hades moves slightly to cover the baby's view of King Arthur. And with a twist of his fingers, the former king crumples to the floor of the bridge. Arthur was a danger to his plans. Hades had seen the man before. He was power hungry, better dead than alive. With him gone, there are less people to challenge his and Zelena's rule.

Hades turns his back from the dead man on the floor. "There. Now there's one less person in our way. Just wait a while longer, Sweet Pea. Soon you will rule this kingdom with your mother and I. We will have everything we want."

He bounces her a little and got a giggle in return. The baby coos at him and her little fingers tries to reach for his face. Hades looks down at her. Both of them smile at each other.

"Your mother will be meeting us at your aunt's office. We should go there now, don't you think?" He tucks her pink blanket under her chin. He makes sure the baby is secure in his arm. Using his other arm to summon his power, Hades and the baby teleport away.

* * *

Zelena teleports herself just outside the office. She combed a hand through her hair. "Unbelievable, I thought she trusted me. Now she's accusing Hades, my true love, of some terrible act. Oh gods, if Regina doesn't trust me… what if she and Robin takes my baby away from me again…"

Zelena's thoughts begin to calm as she hears Hades' voice. She heads towards the sound which leads her to the mayor's office. She stops at the doorway and looks in.

Zelena' worries fade at the sight of the two people she loved. Hades stands by the fireplace carrying her baby in his arms. Beside Hades is a crib which she assumes he made with magic since she couldn't recall buying one. The crib looked as if it came from Oz, the small bed was green and the railings were gold.

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word. I'm going to buy you a mockingbird…"

Zelena could hear her baby girl giggling as Hades bounces her. He is so distracted by the child that he doesn't notice Zelena by doorway. Hades continues to sing.

"... And if that mockingbird won't sing, I'm going to buy you a diamond ring..."

Zelena looks at them in awe. It was like a dream come true. The rest if the world and its problems disappear into the background. For the first time in years, Zelena felt as if she was home.

The baby sees her mother and begins making grabbing motions towards Zelena. He stops singing and asks, "What is it, Sweet Pea?"

The god turns around to see what had gotten the baby's attention and sees Zelena. Hades smiles widely upon seeing her and Zelena feels like melting at the sight of it.

"Hey, you're back."

Zelena moves closer to them and kisses him in the cheek. "Yes, I am."

Hades opens his mouth but doesn't know what to say. He fears that saying that he loves her or misses her might not be a good idea. Zelena still wasn't used to being cared about. That would be something he has to ease her into, but sometimes he couldn't help himself as his past attempts had shown. Hades stops himself before he began to overthink.

"Sweet Pea missed you."

"Oh, did she?" Zelena bit her lip as she glances at her baby and back to Hades' blue eyes. "Was she the only one?"

The tips of Hades' ear turn red and he avoided her eyes. That was the only answer that Zelena needed. She grins at the unspoken truth. Hades glances at her and couldn't help but smile at Zelena's reaction.

He reluctantly holds out the baby for Zelena to take her back. Hades had quickly got attached to the child and relished the affection that he received from her. Zelena sees the reluctance on his face before he manages to remove it.

Seeing this had broke Zelena's heart, it makes her remember what Regina had said about Hades. The heroes were trying to ruin the first good thing she's had in a long time, it wasn't fair. She feels upset all over again.

Zelena shakes her head at Hades and indicates to him that he could keep Sweet Pea with him a while longer. Hades accepts her offer to keep her baby but notices that she was upset. A frown had made its way onto Zelena's face.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. What makes you think there's something wrong?"

"Oh, you mean besides the fact that your smile seems to be upside down?" Zelena scoffs and rolls her eyes at his lame little joke.

"I'm fine. There's no need to worry about me. I can handle my problems on my own."

"Yes, I know you can. And I love that about you." Zelena felt her heart flutter. "But…"

"I don't really want to talk about it right now."

Hades nods his head in acceptance. "Well, if you want to just talk, I'm here." Zelena smiles at his offer.

She looks down at the child between them. The baby smiles back up at the two adults. Zelena takes a finger and caresses the baby's cheek with it. Being in the proximity of the two people that she loved made her calmer and forget about Regina. Hades stares at Zelena as she smiles down at her baby.

Zelena glances up at Hades and sees him staring. She raises an eyebrow. "What are you staring at?"

"The most beautiful woman that I've ever laid my eyes on."

"Oh."

Zelena blushes and ducks her head, a loose red strand of hair falls over her eye. Hades grins at her cuteness and uses one hand to gently place the hair back behind her ear, all the while keeping hold of the small baby.

Hades notices that the baby had fallen silent. He must have rocked her well enough to sleep. He places the baby into the crib. Zelena gives a kiss on her baby's forehead. She quietly says "I love you, Sweet Pea."

Hades cradles the child's hand on his finger. "I promise you, Sweet Pea, I would do whatever it takes to keep you and your mother safe from harm."

Zelena is touched by his declaration. Hades just keeps his head tipped down and looks at the baby in the cradle. He was not supposed to be mushy but being with Zelena and the baby made him so. Zelena takes hold of his hand which made him look up at her.

Hades whispers "It's the truth." Zelena stares at her true love, finding it unbelievable that she is this lucky.

"Hades, have I told you that I loved you yet?"

Hades is surprised. He honestly didn't think he would hear those words from her so soon. He tries to restrain his excitement and grins at Zelena.

He answers "No, I don't think so."

Zelena knew full well that she hasn't yet. Surprising Hades was too good to pass up. She couldn't let him make all the moves in the relationship. "Oh, I haven't? Well, I love you."

Zelena tries to act cool and casual with it. She ducks her head to look at her baby right after she says those last three words, but kept an eye on Hades to watch his reaction.

Hades didn't expect the confirmation of her feelings to such a great impact since they already had True Love's Kiss. But hearing her say it out loud felt as if the weight on his chest lifted.

Hades squeezes her hand in his to make her look at him. He acts casual about it because he knows Zelena, but there's also some teasing in his tone as he replies. "That's good. Because I love you too."

He smiles at her. Zelena let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding in and smiles back at him.

At that moment, Hades wanted Zelena to be with him forever. A sliver of fear makes it's way towards his beating heart. The fear of waking up back in his room in the Underworld, the fear of not having Zelena and Sweet Pea, the fear of it all being just a dream.

Zelena's firm grip on his hand and her beaming face reassures him. It's not a dream. He could have forever with her and her baby. They could be a family. Hades kissed the knuckles of her hand and went down on his knee.

"You're meant to be more than just a wife, you're meant to be a queen. I swear to you Zelena, if you give me a chance I would do whatever it takes to keep you and Sweet Pea safe and happy I want nothing more than to love and protect the both of you. Would you give me the honor of having you as my queen… as my family?" He glanced at the baby in the cradle for a second before looking back at Zelena. "Will you marry me?"

Zelena is shocked. A burst of happiness filled her as she listened to him. It was different from his first proposal, marrying Hades would probably be different than making chaos with him. She was sure that it would definitely be better. But was it too soon? Well, wedding planning could take a while. After what they went through with the Stiltskins, time shouldn't be wasted. She loves him, he loves her and Zelena could see that Hades loves Sweet Pea.

"Yes."

Hades stood up and gave Zelena a kiss. They grinned at each other and looked at the baby sleeping in the crib.

"We're going to be a family."


End file.
